Black and Best Friends
by Karianasan
Summary: Daphne is getting a little restless since there is no new mysteries recently. She finally get's fed up, and decides to borrow Velma for something... Will the other woman regret saying yes? Every Day/Slice of Life story of two best friends.
1. Black and Best Friends

Daphne was feeling restless, in the fall evening. Pacing back and forth in her room, not able to enjoy the nice scenery that the season provided for her. The leaves were falling, the ground was covered in a beautiful multi-colored blanket. Normally she would at least like to take advantage of the backdrop for some photography... And Daphne couldn't care less.

The guys had gone out somewhere, so with Velma in her room working on something... the house was eerily quiet. But it was more than that for the red head. There was something winding up inside of her. Feeling like she needed to get up and move her body or she was going to **explode**! Getting antsy and twitchy in her bedroom, unable to sit still.

"Oh, forget this..."

Tossing her hands in the air, she pushed off her bed. Crossing the carpet, she aimed at her closet on the other side of the space. Ripping her door open, she dove into the mess in search for something. Tossing several of her bags out of the way, she clawed her way through her walk-in closet to grasp the shoulder strap of the bag she was looking for. Almost tripping on the mess that she had pushed past, she took a peek inside to see that everything seemed to be in order.

" _Yeessssss..._ "

Making her way out of the mess alive, she closed it behind her. Tossing the bag on her bed, she strode to close her blinds and secured the door to her room so she could get changed. It wasn't like anyone was around to walk in on her, but she would rather shut it just in case Velma came wandering, or the guys came home early. She would not like to be caught with her pants down... again. Once was enough. She had enough bad luck normally, but thankfully it had only been Scooby. But still, not something she wanted to happen again.

Tossing on the rattiest pair of sweatpants she owned on, she then threw on a worn and older t-shirt and a matching sweatshirt over it. Definitely comfort wear, and easy to move around in. It was still a bit nippy out, being closer to winter then summer. It was not something she normally wore, but she was going to need it for where they were going. And worse case, she could always take the sweatshirt off if she needed too if she got too hot. Reaching for the bag, she scooped it up and made a beeline for Velma's room. Trotting noisily down the stairs, she skidded to a stop on the wooden hallway that stretched to her front door of her room. Peeking her head inside the bedroom, she looked around and found her best friend across the way.

"Hey Velma, you busy?"

Taking in the other woman, Daphne noticed her hunched over some sets of papers. It didn't seem too crazy involved, compared to many of her other more volatile projects. It didn't hiss, rattle or bubble, so Daphne figured it wasn't something that couldn't be picked back up at a later date. So, it would be possible to extract the woman for a while to help her de-stress and get her energy out.

"Hm?"

Looking up from her desk, Velma seemed to notice what Daphne was wearing. Her eyes only showed the tiniest of reaction, as she moved to press the glasses further up from her face where it had drifted down her nose while she worked. Scooting the pair of thick glasses up her face to get a better focus on the woman at her doorway. Squinting at her, she stared a second at her best friend. Considering it for a second, she moved her head back to the desk.

"Oh... Well, let me just finish this sentence."

Turning back to the paper, she scribbled for a bit before putting down the pen and giving herself a long stretch. Daphne danced a bit in eagerness but knew that patience would win out. Velma didn't seem against the idea and was unwinding herself from her desk previous project.

Pushing herself away from her work, Velma made some mild shoo'ing motions at Daphne. Getting the bouncy woman out of her door so she would be able to get dressed to leave. Hard for her to go out looking the way she did. (Not that her pj's were that odd looking, or not presentable, but not what she needed right now.) Working at a crick in her neck as she waited for the dancey Daphne to move at the dismissive hand gestures.

Daphne relented, and waited for Velma to swap clothes. Time ticked by slowly, making the woman shimmy in anticipation. The red head was about knock on the door to find out what was taking her so long, when the brunette opened up the door. In matching ratty sweats, she cast a glance up at the fist that was about to knock and raised an eyebrow at it.

"Really Daph, you need to chill. I'm coming."

Taking the bag from Daphne's shoulder, Velma moved down the hallway towards the kitchen. Her best pal was quick to dash after her. Easily closing the distance between them and following her companions lead.

"Since the guys took the Mystery Machine, I figure we are going to take bikes?" Having heard the van leave earlier, she knew what had happen to the vehicle. Velma mentioned and then suggested, looking at the eager Daphne. Who had taken up a step behind her with a satisfied grin on her face. Her itchy feelings were still there, but at least the women were on their way to fixing it.

Nodding, it seemed like a good idea. It would also help them get in some cardio before they started.

"Sure, that sounds like a ' _plan_ '." Daphne agreed in a certain voice, earning a snicker from the other woman. Rolling her eyes as Daphne did a terrible Fred impression. At least when she wasn't really trying that hard.

Moving across the kitchen, they left the house and moved towards the garage. It was an utter mess still, since they had yet to set aside some time to tackle that project, but thankfully Daphne's bike wasn't too hard to extract. Though Velma's was pretty much buried. Its handle peeked up from the back of the garage, taunting them out of reach. Forcing the two ladies to give up trying to get at it. At least for that day.

"Well..." Thinking about it, Velma came up with a solution. "I can just use my skateboard. So, you can just pull me behind you?" Velma offered.

Thinking about it, the idea wasn't a bad one from Velma. Daphne didn't mind it, as she was the one going stir-crazy at home, not Velma. More willing to save up her own energy for what Daphne was stealing her for, in the first place. She would need it when they finally reached their destination and got to work.

Sure, Velma could easily keep up with Daphne on a bike, but why do that when she could just latch on and let the pent-up, loony in Daphne to do all the work?

"...Fine. But I don't expect you to go easy then!" Daphne snorted in agreement, willing to hold Velma to her promise.

"Deal, though I wasn't planning on anyway." Velma admitted honestly. She wasn't one to go easy on Daphne. Not unless there was a good enough reason to do so.

"Good! Let's get going then!"

Closing the garage, Velma hopped on her board and snagged a hand on the back seat on Daphne's bike. Nodding to indicate that she was ready. Bracing for the initial take off and would later relax as they went and she was pulled along.

Pushing herself into the peddles, Daphne weaved the bike slightly back and forth to get some good momentum and get them on their way. Slowly she pushed to get them both up to speeds, pulling away from their house and eventually their block. On their way to their destination, one pedal at a time!

"Wh _oo~hoo_!" Daphne whooped, earning a head shake from Velma. Giving in and letting loose a small laugh at her friend's eagerness.

"Off we _gooooo~_ " Daphne called into the afternoon sunlight.


	2. Down and Dirty

Panting a bit, Daphne leaned against her bike as they had reached their destination. Arms stretched over her handlebars as she recovered herself from the workout. The old clubhouse was a sight for sore eyes, though the last bit of sloped dirt road had been more of an angle then Daphne had anticipated. And she was trying to catch her breath from the hill that she had just conquered!

"It's your own fault, for not pacing yourself." Velma snickered, knowing that Daphne had done that somewhat to herself, though the last push had been not as intentional as the rest of it. As the hill had been sharper then she had remembered as well. Though it wouldn't take long for the other woman to recuperate. They had run far longer on mysteries, then just this little bike ride. So, she would recover quickly enough that Velma wouldn't have to wait for her.

"S... shush you..." Daphne managed to huff out, though it wasn't much of a threat.

"Wait... take _huff_ these." Daphne offered her keys to Velma to put in the bag. She didn't want to lose them, and she was too busy catching her breath to be able to put them away herself.

Shaking her head, Velma took the keys and moved to the clubhouse. Laying her skateboard against the beloved building. Taking a seat on the small set of stairs that led inside, she placed the bag from around her shoulders to the seat beside her. Unzipping it, she opened the bag and took stock of the contents. Nodding once, she then fished a few pieces out and slowly began to place them on herself. Tossing the keys into the mess as she focused on other bits from inside.

Pulling up her sleeves on her sweatshirt, Velma put in its place, an arm's length type of padding. It looked well used, and tough. Able to take the beating that it was about to endure, and countless ones from the past. As the wear and tear clearly indicated. It had a matching partner that sat on Velma's other forearm. But both of them ended before her hands, leaving them bare. This then allowed her to take out a pair of hitting mitts, that she would soon add to the previous padding. Plucking another pair of pads, the brunette lashed them to her upper legs to protect her thighs. She finished it up by plucking at pair of shin guards to complete the set.

Giving her neck another stretch, Velma set a well battered helmet upon her head. Setting a mouthpiece against her teeth, she bit down on the worn guard. Gripping the hitting mitts; she placed then on her hands and gave them a hard smack together, resounding in the forest around them as she bobbed in place. Getting ready to take on what was coming.

"All set Blake, gimmie your best shot."

Using her last name, Velma taunted her friend into what she knew was coming. Wiggling the padding at the woman, taking a few steps at her. Having caught her breath, Daphne's eyes twinkled at the prospect Velma was offering her. Giving her shoulders a roll, Daphne sized up her partner.

It had been far too long since she had trained her martial arts, and she was feeling a bit restless and rusty. This is why she had convinced Velma a long time ago, to be her practice dummy... And would occasionally steal the woman to get some well needed practice.

Moving herself away from the clubhouse, Velma took up a hunched position, with her hands up and ready to catch Daphne's attacks. Over many years of mock combat, Velma had become a great trainer. Muscle memory helping put her mitts in just the right positions and moved in such a way that was perfect for the other woman. Not a perfectly still target, but not a hard to hit one either.

"..."

Actually, to Daphne's point of view... Velma looked like a massive mountain that was standing in her way. Giving off an aura of... not really aggression. But definitely the sort of feeling you didn't want to mess with lightly. That was the one and only, miss Velma Dinkley. An intimidating mini powerhouse, under five feet tall and staring intently from behind the pads at the woman before her. Ready to pounce if Daphne took her lightly or showed weakness. A perfect sparring partner.

Tucked in on herself, Velma placed the pads to protect herself and make the perfect target area that would be for a man taller than the shorter woman was. After all, they were here to practice Daphne's moves against the possible criminals and the like that they ran into on mysteries. Not knowing when one of those might go south. As not all criminals were content to give chase or hide behind masks. So being able to defend herself, Daphne made sure that she would be ready to deal with anything that came her way. And practiced accordingly.

Picturing one of the many villains that they had ran up against, Daphne settled into a loose defensive stance. Bobbing a bit, she waited for Velma to move. Letting the two of their breathings sync up, as they moved into their routine. It was like Velma could tell who Daphne was imagining and moved to echo. Twisting her hand up where a guy's head would be, Velma only had to wait an instant before Daphne's fist struck the mitt with a resounding impact. Shifting her shoulder, Velma braced her other hand across her chest to take another blow on the 'mans' solar plexus. And finishing with a roundhouse kick to the head, Velma bringing up her arm to catch the strike on her forearm pad with a thwack. Protecting her own self from taking the blow upon the pads.

So back and forth, the two women moved. Velma shifting to be an attacking villain, and Daphne countered it. Taking the 'man' down before they were able to get near her. Punches and kicks flew back and forth, ringing out at they hit the pads and mitts. A dance made up by experience and interactions. Time flying by as they danced back and forth in mock combat.

Finishing a blow, Daphne landed a bit off. Stumbling as her foot landed slightly angled and making her stumble for a second before recovering. But the moment was all Velma needed.

Seeing an opportunity, Velma instantly closed the gap and hit Daphne about her middle. Grasping the woman about the waist, she used her lower point of gravity against the other woman and pressed her advantage for a tackle. Taking Daphne off her feet, Velma used her shoulder and slammed her best friend to the ground in a takedown. Knocking the wind out of her as her back hit the earth behind her.

" ** _Ooof!_** " Daphne whooshed, as the air fled out of her at the impact. Velma had moved to put Daphne into another wresting move out of instinct, before she realized what she had just done! Releasing her and scooting to her side to check on her fallen best friend. Fussing about and making sure she was ok, though a bit clumsy with all the padding around her.

"Daph!" Fretting as she didn't know the state she had just put the woman in to her sudden charge. She had just reacted in the moment and pressed the advantage before she even thought to.

"Oh! Sorry Daphne, I didn't mean too..."

As Velma moved to help Daphne up, she was stopped by a hand. Gasping for air, Daphne swallowed a few gulped swallows before she was able to wheeze out a response. Wincing at the new tenderness that was growing from where Velma had slammed into her side with a shoulder. And the ground wasn't exactly a forgiving mistress.

"Don't... _ugh_ , that was a great shot. Yeesh."

Leaning to help her, Daphne finally accepted the hand up. Figuring, yeah... they could use a break, Daphne grunted a bit as Velma pulled her to her feet. Walking slowly, holding her ribs as Velma moved them to the clubhouse and threw off the equipment so she was able to fish out some water bottles that had been tossed inside last time they used the bag. Pulling off her helmet so she could see in the bag better to get to the drinks.

"Here... And sorry again." Velma offered, handing the bottle to Daphne. Being a bit sheepish at her attack to the other woman. Feeling bad that she hurt her.

"Don't be, I did tell you to press any advantage that you saw? I don't think a bad guy is going to apologize if they noticed a weakness. My master said I need to be ready for anything. But wow... That was a good shot." Daphne snickered and rubbed the sore spot. Making another mental note to always be careful with honestly pissing off Velma. She hits hard!

Velma waited till Daphne took a sip before opening up her own. Feeling a bit bad, but Daphne had a point. She needed to be ready for anything, including a low tackle like Velma had done. Though her shorter height made that easier than most villains they had run into in the past. And she wasn't exactly sure how many bad guys would try to rush the woman like that. Also, it wasn't the easiest to just charge at Daphne when she was in defensive mode. She was a karate champion and had participated in several competitions. So, she could be just as intimidating as the bespectacled woman was to Daphne. It would not be many people willing to just blindly rush at Daphne without a second thought. At least if they knew her reputation more than just a danger prone princess. And if they didn't, they would learn quickly.

Rubbing her side, Daphne took a sip and let the water run around her mouth for a bit before taking a swallow. Not wanting to take too much at once. But as much as she smarted, it felt pretty good to get it all out and get some training in as well. Get her limbs moving. She was far too rusty, and it was showing. But Velma was good, and even in her prime, Daphne would have to worry about the younger woman. She was tactical, and skilled enough to use any advantage she could get her hands on. Also, she knew more than Daphne wanted to admit, of Daphne and her own weakness'. And while she wasn't a martial artist, she was a good enough wrestler to apply it in a more brawler sense. Not to mention her love of hockey, and all the fighting that was pretty default in that as well.

You wouldn't figure the woman was an only child, but Shaggy and Fred were kind of like older brothers growing up with them around. Especially with Fred's love of Wrestling. So surely some of that rough and tumble payed off. At least till they got old enough for it to have become a bit more awkward. And owning a giant Dane that had no clue about his paws, probably helps as well.

"Man... You should be a linebacker with that tackle, _ugh_. That was a good one. Took me totally off my feet."

"Funny you should say that..." Velma said with a blush, recalling something that happened in the past. Itching the tip of her nose as she remembered something. Which made Daphne snap her head around, eyes twinkling at the blush and comment. Instantly curious.

"Oh? Do tell..."


	3. So You Want to be a Linebacker?

"Oh? Do tell?"

Daphne was captivated at the idea, what could Velma mean? Was she not the first person to call her hits like a linebacker?

And well, Daphne had seen Velma toss two full grown, adult women with one hand each. So certainly, the woman had enough strength to pull off those sorts of moves. Adding to the fact that she was a fan of wresting, having made up the **Flying Dinkley** that she had pulled off physically on them and on the fly. ( _Though after who knows how long Velma had kicked around the idea in her head. And no doubt done tons of calculations and such for the move._ ) As well as her love of hockey... So, she had the prowess and skill to say the least. But it was more her personality that made the statement come into curious question.

"Do you remember that silver haired gym teacher, in high school?" Velma mentioned, tapping the tips of her fingers together. Feeling a bit bashful telling the story to Daphne. Surprised that the woman hadn't heard this before. From other classmates in the past, or herself one sleepy night on a mystery.

"Oh, Mister Julian, right?" Daphne said, thinking back. She recalled because he was not that old but had already gone grey far before they both were in school. "The one with the bad knee?"

"Yeah, though I didn't know it at the time." Velma sighed, seeming a saddened at that fact.

"Oh, **now** this I have to hear!" Daphne shifted forward eagerly but winced a bit at her side. Knowing that it was surely going to bruise. But she deserved it. And at least she was getting a story out of it, and one she didn't know of her best friend. And her news hound personality loved the idea of a juicy story to get her hands on.

"... Well, there had been this odd gym class that they offered to us seniors. It was called Outward Bound, and it basically like a gym class with various crazy field trips. Cross country skiing, white water rapids, and the like?" Velma mentioned, hoping that Daphne would remember so she didn't have to fully explain the class.

"Oh yeah. I remember that." Daphne recalled. "Though I couldn't take it, because it would clash with my Volleyball practice, since there was a bunch of over nights and such for that."

"Yeah, I took that class, and Mr. Julian was the teacher for it. Though we did have occasional other teachers join us, just to have more adults to keep track of us. But anyway... one of the trips was going to be a cross country skiing trip." Velma paused, trying to recall something. Tilting her head slightly, as if the angle would help her think better.

"Do you remember them holding that Alumni day, in school?" She asked Daphne, wondering if she recalled the event. While it was a big event, not all students really knew about it. While it was a bit of a big deal, it wasn't really all that well known among the students unless you went to it. Or knew alumni that was going to it and coming back to the school to visit that day.

"Oh, wasn't that like an early morning thing in winter? With a free breakfast and all the older students were able to stop in and say hi?" Daphne recalled, remembering it since it was one of the few times that they had a breakfast at the school. And pretty good spread at that, so much that Shaggy had tried to sneak into as many times as he could that day. Well, before he got caught and banned by the lunch ladies.

"Yeah, well one of the days that had snowed, was that day. The teacher gave us a proposal. We could either go outside and make our own tracks in the snow to practice cross country skiing or go to the breakfast."

"..."

"...Were you the only one that went outside?" Daphne wondered, knowing full well that Velma enjoyed learning things so much, that she wouldn't turn down some practical experience to gain a new skill. Even for a breakfast, and even if she was alone to do it.

"Actually, no. There was one other guy who stayed. He was my partner a bunch of times in that course though. And actually, I had been to the breakfast earlier in another class, so I didn't want to go a second time. May Shaggy strike me down for saying so."

Which earns a snicker from Daphne.

"So, you went outside... Is that when you tackled someone?"

"No, but I'm getting to it. Basically, me and my friend took the time to stomp little channels in the snow... It was far too deep at the beginning to just start skiing on, so we had to use the ski's themselves to make a flattened route to use as practice. Once made though, we were able to use it to get a feel of the skis. Back and forth, we spent the whole gym class learning the right pace for getting a good rhythm for balancing. It was harder than it looked."

"Yeah, Daddy has taken me cross country skiing a few times. I prefer downhill slopes myself." Daphne nodded, remembering the difference between the two. And enjoyed far more the rush of the hills and mountains, then the flatter alternative.

"Yeah, me too. But it was interesting to learn. It makes sense for people to have used cross country skiing, to well 'cross the country'. With the right pace, you could travel a good clip pretty quickly depending on how skilled you were at the mode of transportation. Well, anyway. The next gym class, the tracks were still there in the snow, and we managed to get the rest of the class to take turns on the channels. Since we only made two of them, since only two of us had gone outside. So, the class had to use our paths to practice on."

Taking another sip of water, Velma continued.

"The day of the field trip came. We traveled a bit to get to where the area was. I don't recall exactly where it was, sadly. Like if it just was upstate or in another one. But anyway, gearing up, we got to where the trail was. The teacher just kind of pointed down the way and told us to meet him at this marker. And we were off. At this point, the class broke up into three main groups. Off at the front, were a few students like you... Who knew how to cross country ski. They took off and were gone. The second group was my friend and me. We had learned well enough from the gym classes and weren't totally uncoordinated to be able to travel at a pretty good pace. But this last group..."

Velma paused, "...was everyone who really could have used that extra practice. And Mr. Julian was letting them know it."

"Oh, what was he doing?" Daphne pondered aloud, knowing the man hadn't been all that serious of a teacher. Not laid back, but not a strict man either. A bit of a goof, which was probably why Shaggy got along with the man when he was in sports. Daphne was having a hard time trying to think of what he would have actually been doing to those classmates of Velma's.

"Anyone who was at the end, he then began to terrorize. Pushing people into the snow, tossing snowballs and taunting them. I saw a bit of it, but I got out of range pretty quickly. But you could see it in the stragglers who eventually arrived to our destination. Covered in snow, wet, and plotting revenge. It probably wasn't the best to do that, in case someone hurt their ankle or what not, but it seemed that my classmates were not injured just indignant at his actions."

"Now we are getting somewhere!"

Clapping her hands, Daphne was enjoying the tale. And revenge was always fun to hear about it. Well, within reason.

"The destination was a little house above a lake. We got off the ski's and picked up a bunch of brooms. Stay with me... yes I said brooms. Well going down to the lake, we were told to play a round of broom ball."

"... Is that like Hockey but no skates, and a broom instead of a hockey stick?" Daphne liked Hockey well enough, she wasn't too unfamiliar with the childhood game. Though mainly used to play on frozen ponds and small lakes. Especially with Velma such a Hockey nut.

"Yeah, it was actually a lot of fun! Oddly enough, my glasses stayed pretty clear while skiing, but broom ball was another story. I actually had to take them off. But it actually helped me be a killer goalie. Because I only payed attention to the ball once it got into my range of sight, making it easier to block it with my narrow field of view. Good training for hockey."

"Wow, so you being blind as a bat has its advantages!" Daphne joked, earning a tight-lipped smile from her best friend, and a snort.

"Har har. Well we played a round of broom ball before we returned to the house for a bathroom and water break. But the unrest was still there. Now I'm not normally one for pranks..."

"S _uuuuuure_ you're not." Daphne said with a laugh. Having been on the bad side of Velma more than once. Mostly due to her own fault for instigating, but still. ( _What fun is knowing your friend's buttons, and not get to push them sometimes?_ )

"Hey, I am more of a specialist." Velma placed a hand over her heart, getting a haughty look. "I don't just prank anyone for any reason. I am picky."

"S _uuuuuure_ , I'll keep that in mind." Daphne joked.

Huffing at Daphne slightly, Velma picked back with her tale.

"Well, while I didn't have anything against the teacher myself, having not earned his ire that day. But I had presented to me, a chance I **HAD** to take advantage of. Walking back to the lake was a bit of a path down a small slope. The snow had been shoveled and salted, but there was about two feet of snow on either side of the path. And the teacher was right at the edge of it. And it was only me and my friend behind the teacher, with the rest of the class in front of him."

"Turning to my friend, I muttered ' _I'm going to do it._ ' Not telling him more than that, I made my move. Swinging my legs, I built up momentum with my staggered steps. Closing the gap between us, I swung my arm around his waist and heaved. Now he had a good foot or so over me, so I wanted to make sure he made it into the snow embankment. Not wanting to miss, I decided to throw myself to make sure we both cleared the snow. Adding my own body weight to ensure that he sailed into the white stuff. And well... it worked. Between my calculations of the momentum, and myself. I picked him up and dropped the both of us into the good old white stuff."

"Oh man, was he pissed?"

"Actually, he was more surprised than anything else. His first words were along the lines of...'You?!' not expecting to see me, as the culprit." Velma admitted, chucking a bit at the memory. The look on his face was perfect. All wide eyed, taking in what she had just done to him.

"Ha! That's awesome." Daphne chuckled, shaking her head. She could just picture the man, popping out of the snow to look at the grinning face of the cute, little Velma. The most unassuming little bookworm and teachers pet. Throwing the teacher into the snow.

"I helped him up, surprising him again as I pulled him easily to his feet. And he continued to be astonished that it was me, and that I had literally thrown him. Apparently, he was a big fan of pranking. He hadn't been caught off guard in fifteen years. And I was the one to have broken his long standing, never even thinking that I was capable of such a thing. Being the sweet and innocent student. I guess a benefit of being more selective with my pranks." Velma admitted, a huge smile beaming on her face as she told the story.

"Heh, sneaking little thing. Using your goody two shoe, teacher's pet cover to let you catch him off guard."

"Well, I didn't plan to get him... it was just too perfect for me to turn down. I mean the snow right there, calculating the distance needed, and extra oomph to make sure we made it into the snow available. It was too tempting to not take advantage of! Though sadly I didn't know he had a hurt knee, so I felt bad that he hurt it in the fall. Had I known, I wouldn't have done it."

Velma admitted. She had a code for her pranks. One, never plan to hurt someone with a prank. She had seen too many pranks go poorly, having someone get hurt in the process. So, she never intentionally tried to hurt someone with her pranks. And the second rule was never being upset when someone pranks you back.

"Aw, well it sounded like he didn't mind that much."

"Yeah, he actually announced it when we had arrived at the lake. The rest of the students were wondering what was taking us so long, till we rounded the bend. Covered head to toe in snow, he lifted his hands and exclaimed 'Velma got me!' And the whole class actually burst into cheers. I didn't get along too well with most of the other students, but that day... I was their hero."

Daphne laughed, clapping Velma on the back.

"Nice. So, he was the one who told you, you should be a linebacker?"

"Yeah, he was so surprised that I was able to not only throw him in the snow but pick him up to do so. And picking him out of the snow afterwards didn't help. Even though I am pretty sure it helped that I threw myself to get him into the snow. But he kept on trying to get me to try out, though I think my height would have been an issue for trying to pretend to be a football player."

Daphne tried to picture it, and just burst into laughter. Imagining the even shorter, young Velma in the full football gear and trying to pass for tryouts. And the confused look on the guys faces at the lineup, and after one guy would have been put up against her. Not only in height, but possibly losing out once they clashed. Daphne would have given her allowance for a year, to see that!

"I would have loved to see you try that!"

"He never got me back though. I was waiting for it, but he didn't try. I was kind of disappointed." Velma rolled her eyes at Daphne before sighing. Curious after all these years, if he even had thought to get her back with a prank of his own.

"Well, you'll just have to wait for your reunion to see him again... Or maybe he was too intimidated by the crime solving, teacher's pet to try to take you on. It might have daunting to try to take on a young detective, that took on criminals on a regular basis at your young age. Hard to catch the drop on an experienced detective." Daphne brought up, wondering if that might have been the case.

"Hm... True. I never thought about it like that." Velma pondered, forgetting the fact that she wasn't just a simple bookworm student. But had solved far more than a handful of cases by then. Taking down full-grown criminals before she even had a driver license. (Ignoring that it took her to her twenties to get her license...) Might be a tad bit more intimidating to try to get revenge on.

"Well, enough chatting. Let's switch and gimmie your best shot!" Daphne offered, picking up the hitting mitts. Wincing a bit at the movement. Earning a look from Velma.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?"

"Shush. It's just a rib or two. I can take at least that much." Daphne snorted, giving the mitts another hit. "Though I might have to have you teach me that tackle. It seems to be very effective. _Oof_."


	4. Spook Elbow Training

"Sure." Velma agreed, pushing to her feet to take up Daphne's offer.

"But no tackles this time. Maybe let's work on those elbows of yours?"

Daphne often taunted the younger woman into spook elbowing. It would be good for Velma to practice her moves, to polish her jerk reaction. Especially if it might make things worse for the guys if they ended up at the end of one of them via a surprised from behind. Their fault for not being out there with them to practice! And well, most villains would come up from behind Velma, so protecting her back would be a good thing to learn.

Staring at her elbow for a second, Velma's brow was a bit furrowed. While she could plan for things that might take place on the mat of a ring, actually trying to use her elbows as an attack was not something that came to mind easily. Well, without adding it to like a rope drop, or body slam like she might in wrestling. And well, in Hockey you just tossed down the gloves and did it old school. So weaponizing her elbows like what Daphne had in mind, wasn't easy for Velma to picture right away. After all, her ' _spook elbowing_ ' was something like a gut reaction, not something she did intentionally.

"Oh, come here."

Pulling the woman away from the house, Daphne led Velma to a spot that would work. Giving them enough room around both of them, to do what she had in mind. She could see that the other woman was trying to use her brain to figure out what her body already knew. If Velma was going to be over thinking it, Daphne had to take drastic measures.

Plucking the woman's glasses off, instantly set her into defensive mode. Hands coming up, Velma flinched at the world becoming instantly blurry. And fumed at Daphne for doing so, knowing how she hated being without her glasses if she could help it.

She felt naked... weak... defenseless without it.

From behind her, a random poke came and jabbed into part of her back. It wasn't painful, but uncomfortable. But as she spun to chase after Daphne, she had moved to continue to stay in her blind spot. Only managing to catch a corner of her as she danced around her and stayed out of Velma's view.

"I thought you said you were a better goalie with your glasses off." Daphne taunted, poking Velma again and danced out of view. Using her feet to her advantage. And only slightly being hampered by her side as she avoided Velma's gaze.

Grumbling, Velma was already regretting telling her of the story from a second ago. Lurching her shoulder out of poking range, but still unable to get Daphne into view. All she was doing was making herself a bit queasy from the blurry world warping around her as she moved.

"You know how to use your elbows, just think about trying to protect some food from Scoob and Shag. Defense!" Daphne knew Velma had it in her and would be able to get it. But she figured some poking would help get her into more of a protective stance. They didn't have all day.

"Grrrr _mrmmmm_..." Velma grumbled again, twitching at another poke. ' _Fine, if she wants my elbows... she will get elbows..._ '

Closing her eyes, (since it wasn't helping her anyway) Velma brought up her elbows and wiggled from another frustrating poke from behind. It was just like how she did with Daphne earlier, but she was the one to react to the provocations.

' _Breath... Match her breath._ '

Trying to limit her reactions to the attacks, she strained her ears to catch the sounds of Daphne. The sounds of her bobbing feet across the dirt ground, the occasional sounds of her being distracting and hitting the mitts together behind her. The light sounds of her taking a breath. ' _There, her breathing..._ '

Trying to sync with Daphne, Velma calmed herself down and started to weave slightly. Matching the pattern, she was hearing from Daphne's own footfalls on the earth under them. There was a slight crunch as Daphne leaned into a poke. But the brunette's first elbow thrust was more of a halfhearted wiggle then something resembling a strike.

"Come on, you can do better than that." Daphne poked again, dodging the second wussy elbow that Velma tossed out. But they were getting closer.

Poke... **THWACK!**

Leaning into a poke, Daphne pulled up the pad to catch a sharp elbow that came swinging for her head. Velma had stepped up the speed and Daphne was almost caught off guard at the cloth covered point that came seeking her.

"Whoo! Good shot. Another!" A big grin bursting across Daphne's face, she knew that Velma would be able to get it with some prodding, quite literally. Dancing away to try to stay in her blind spot, she continued to lightly stab the woman and catch her elbows on the pads. Thankfully in such a way that didn't hurt her side as much.

"I'm glad one of us is having fun."

Velma grumbled, even though she was starting to enjoy it a bit. It was an interesting problem that Daphne gave her to solve. And admittedly, being able to work around her heavy blindness was always something she was concerned about. And no matter how much she squinted, she was still at a loss without her glasses. But this was an enlightening experience. It kind of reminded her of where Fred was blinded, and after a while he was able to get around the house pretty well. She just had to make use of the sounds and feel of Daphne behind her.

Listening and reaching to the pokes, Velma shifted and reacted when she got poked, slowly getting it down to be able to strike back at Daphne, making the motion feel less awkward and more natural. Trying to let her gut reaction to the jab blend into the snapping of her shoulder and elbow.

' _Hm... I wonder._ '

With her eyes still closed, she tried to mentally picture Daphne behind her. Between the prods and the scraping sounds her shoe were making, Velma was trying to map out a rough idea of how Daphne was going to react. Adding in a few feint elbows to gauge her reactions, Daphne danced out of the way before returning to poke again. Almost like how she fakes the villains for Daphne to strike at, Velma was trying to map out her general reactions for her to pull off something to surprise the woman.

A while ago, Daphne had tried to teach her how to do a karate punch. And while she knew generally how to toss a punch, she tended to go more off of hockey brawling instincts rather than the aimed and whole body twisting that Daphne had been trying to iron into her being. And while she understood the mechanics of punching that way, it was hard for her to learn to just do, without overthinking things. That, and she knew that she already threw out a pretty powerful punch as it was, so she was a bit worried what kind of punch she might have if she had been able to pull out a punch like that on the fly, verse a bad guy who had ill intentions. Not like she wanted to kill a guy but being able to knock a guy out if they were after her might be a good thing, or at least winding him. Which is why they trained like this.

She wanted to try to see if she could surprise Daphne with pulling off one of those punches. But she also didn't want to hit Daphne in an area that wasn't padded. Making sure Daphne would be able to defend herself before she tossed out such a random punch. Which is why Velma was trying to figure out where and how Daphne was reacting, to be able to make the best guess to where she would be. Also making sure to not hit the already sore side. To add more damage to her, on top of before.

But first she would have to be able to turn to face her, since punching backwards wasn't something she could really do. Well, more than the elbows she was already aiming at Daphne with. So, the first thing she would need to do was figure a way to get Daphne in her blurry line of sight.

Crouching down a bit more to add a bit more of a spring to her step, Velma waited till the poking came. Using her right elbow, she swung it at Daphne and then immediately pushed off the ground and tried to swing herself to face the other woman.

Rotating on her left heel, she pivoted it in order to help her whip around to face her. Opening her eyes too see her target. But it worked better then she thought, having Daphne land square in the middle of her vision! Not wanting to miss the opportunity that she didn't realize she would get, the brunette planted her right foot to start the punch. Pushing off, she gripped her fist tightly and thrust her hip and moved the rest of her body to try to send out the punch at Daphne's protected middle. Just like the woman had taught her.

And it would have hit... had Velma not been trying so _hard._

Everything had been perfect. Daphne was in view, the pads were in the general area to protect herself, and Velma had managed to plant her foot and rotate everything just like Daphne had drilled into her... The only problem was the intent. So focused on hitting Daphne in that very moment, she set off a sense of bloodlust that the trained Daphne was able to pick up instantly. And Daphne was far more experienced and reacted like Velma had earlier. Quick, and instantly. Velma didn't even see the chopping left come her way, only **black**.


	5. Result of Velma's Brilliant Moment

**...**

"... _ugh_... What hit me?" Coming around, it was Velma's turn to be looking up at the fussing best friend. Fluttering around her, Velma was wincing a bit as the throbbing tenderness around one eye and cheek rang out as she took her glasses from Daphne and placed it lightly on her face.

"What happened?" All she remembered was that she was in a perfect spot to hit Daphne with a punch, but then the world had gone dark.

" _I'msosorryIpunchedyouintheface..._ " Daphne stammered out, not able to keep still as she worried about Velma, though it was just making the other woman dizzy.

Reaching out, she nabbed Daphne to hold her still. Grabbing her around the shoulders and pushing her to sit down by her. Her brain was still a bit rattled, so she needed Daphne to not be flitting around like some drunk dragonfly.

"Ok... Breath Daph. I'm _ow_ , fine." She paused as her glasses slid a bit into her tender cheek. "...for the most part. But I want to know what happened."

Wanting to wiggle under Velma's grasp, she had enough of a grip on Daphne's sweatshirt to stop the woman from going far. And Velma seemed to be talking ok. But it had still been scary to end up watching Velma fall to the ground after her own punch. Like a puppet with their strings cut.

"I don't know what happened. I was poking you one moment, and then you whipped around and next thing I knew I was punching back. The back of my neck tingled, and everything told me you wanted to hit me, and my body just reacted before I could even think of what was going on. I... _I..._ " Daphne started to tear up, feeling absolutely miserable for doing that to her best friend. She wanted to do some training, not beat her bestie with a knockout to the face. _She was such a **horrible** person!_

Groaning a small bit, Velma placed a palm against her face to see how bad it was, sliding her hand under her glasses and covering the one eye by the affected area.

"... _ow_ , don't feel bad Daphne. I deserved to be punched." Velma mumbled past her hand.

"What? I didn..."

" **I** did." Velma corrected, pulling down her hand and giving Daphne a serious and level look. "I was honestly trying to punch you. Remember the last time, when you were trying to teach me how to do a hip punch like your martial arts style teaches? Well, I thought I would try to put that into practice a second ago and it worked... a bit too well."

"Wait... you were trying to do that punch?" Daphne finally sat still for a second, her brows furrowing and trying to think back to the moment that had just occurred. She just remembered Velma turning around really fast and then planting her foot and...

"Oh! I was pretty good form, but."

"But I **_REALLY_** tried to hit you. And I should have known better." Velma hadn't thought further then just trying to surprise the other woman. They were practicing for a reason, and at least this showed that in the moment, Daphne would be able to rattle the brains of an aggressive attacker with a quick and decisive blow that had knocked Velma silly. A brilliant move on her part.

"I hate to image that if you weren't wearing those hitting mitts... _ow_." Velma said rubbing her face lightly again. She realized that the only saving grace that let her wake up as fast as she did, was because she was whacked in the face with the cushier pad than Daphne's actual fist. Which Velma figured would have bounced her brain around from a more pin point blow that the mitt had dispersed. No doubt the aim was probably to her chin but the larger surface area threw off the impact to hit her in the face instead.

Looking at her own mitt covered fist, Daphne was getting a growing upset look on her face. No doubt thinking about what would have happened had she actually punched Velma in the face. But soon a hand moved in the way to grip the top of the glove and another hand grabbed Daphne's face roughly to pull her to look at the younger woman.

" ** _NOT...YOUR...FAULT._** " Velma tried to spell out, getting Daphne to look at her in the eyes and convince her otherwise. Actually, she used to get hit far more often back in the day when Daphne had first kidnapped her to do this practice. But it had been long enough, that Daphne probably forgot the more awkward beginnings and just recalled how good Velma was now. So, a black eye, was the least of Velma's worries. At least they would match.

"So, I bashed you on the side, and you punched me in the face. We are even now." Velma huffed, releasing Daphne's face and giving a shrug as if it wasn't a big deal. Because to her, it wasn't. It was practice after all, and this was training to be better and ready. This just means that Velma needed more practice dodging then Daphne needed with her punching skills. And it was good if Daphne would be able to react if someone seriously wanted to hurt her, and this would be the result. So even as rusty as Daphne thought she was, it was enough to cause someone after her to be at least knocked silly.

"Really?" With her brows knotted, Daphne thought it over. And while she didn't really want to be punching Velma in the face, the experience did teach her that she wasn't as lacking as she thought she was, with reacting to unseen threats. Even from her best friend.

"Yes really. That was a good shot, and I need to learn to punch you without any killer instinct if I want to actually hit next time." Velma jested, though it would be hard to not end up doing a punch removed from emotion and sent out with intention but be unable to be sensed coming like out of some crazy martial arts movie. Her personal 'spider sense' had gone off at the punch, but her reaction time was nowhere need Daphne's in order to have done anything against it.

"Yes, you do. Let's try it then." Daphne said simply, getting up where she stood and hitting the mitts together.

"Yes, I... Wait, **what?** What do you mean?" Velma had been joking, so she was surprised when Daphne was agreeing with her. Daphne hardly agrees with her that quickly. She was caught off guard when she did so, so quickly.

"Well, you just did a pretty good attempt at that punch. Far better then you did last time I was trying to teach you. So obviously your brain was able to learn it but took a bit for you to get your brain in sync to pull it off. So, we should have you practice it over and over again so your body can remember what you brain just figured out."

If Velma was as ok as she said she was, then this was something Daphne didn't want to lose. She was going to need Velma to re-enact the motions until it became habit, and would add to Velma's own defense, if she would need it on a mystery. Plus, that one eighty pivots was a tad bit impressive. Definitely something to keep in her repertoire for mysteries. Even if not for a punch, but a really quick turnaround without messing up the ankles in the process.

Staring... Velma wasn't sure what to make of it. It kind of made sense in her brain, and overcomplicated as it sometimes liked to get. But the idea at its core made sense.

"... I hope you don't mean that I am supposed to take another one of those shots? I know I can be hard headed at times, but I think I might only be able to take a few more of those." Velma joked, understanding what Daphne had meant, but couldn't help herself taking a verbal jab of her own.

"Oh, shush you. If you can gripe, you can punch. So, get over here." Daphne tossed a raspberry at Velma, whacking the gloves upon one another as she got ready to catch Velma's elbows and hopefully a whip around punch. She was going to have to name the move later, so it would join the ranks like the Flying Dinkley.

Getting in position, Velma tried to recall what she had been doing in the moments before she tried to do the punch.

"Alright, you were poking me in the back." Velma spoke aloud, trying to recall what she did to set it up. Walking herself through verbally to help recall what all had transpired.

"I thought about the punch you taught me and thought to try one. Closing my eyes, I was trying to picture you like one of the villains that I use for our training sessions. Trying to learn your patterns with the sound of your feet, and how you reacted to my elbows."

"Oh, so that is why you were sending out those wussy wide swings a bit before." Daphne pointed out, having noticed that Velma had toned down her intensity and was tossing in a few feints along with her good jabs. She just didn't know what Velma had been thinking up, or maybe she would have been able to react differently. But Daphne tried her best to recreate what had happened before.

"I didn't realize I have a pattern, hm, I need to work on that." Daphne considered, since that sort of thing could be a problem next martial arts competition she might participate in. But Velma did have years of experience on her side, of how she moved and would have a greater wealth of experience to draw upon to be able to know how the other woman would react. Compared to an opponent in a competition, or a random angry masked villain of the day.

Poking once, she felt Velma thrust her elbow sharply at her. Almost as if she was pushing off from her elbow, Velma shifted her center of gravity into the spring on her knees and whipped around.

Even knowing that this was coming, Daphne was impressed at the speed Velma was able to spin around to face her. No doubt having formed good muscles for this sort of thing, since they were constantly having to quickly change directions on a mystery when the ghosts and ghouls decided that it was time to give chase. Also, Velma had the experience of the ring on her side. And it was important for a goalie and various positions in hockey to be able to change directions at a moment's notice to chance after a puck. All of this added to why Velma had such good movement to pull off such an action. Unknowing that she had been accidently training to things just like this without much forethought.

Daphne watched as Velma planted her dominate foot and rotated the rest of her body to propel her fist. Since she was knowing what was coming this time, Daphne was able to suppress her gut reaction and twist herself out of the way. She was originally going to take it head on, letting the mitts or pads catch it. But she had noticed a down side to the random thrust, that she didn't want Velma to actually impact and possibly hurt herself.

"Hey, I thought you wanted me to punch you?" Velma said confused, watching her partner dance away. Surprised at the movement even with a hurt rib, allowing her to twist and float out of range from Velma's blow.

"Yes, I did. But I am also worried about your wrist. You are trying to punch too high, and the angle your knuckles would make impact, might be enough to hurt you." Coming up beside Velma, Daphne pulled off one mitt and tucked it between her knees as she made a fist to show Velma what she meant.

"Your fist is pointing down, and if you end up punching like that you potentially break your wrist." Daphne tilted her fist to exaggerate and show what Velma was doing. "You want your knuckles to line up with the rest of your arm. So, when you punch, you are making a line from your center all the way to your fist. Also, you are a bit tense in the punch. You want to rotate but only on the impact of the blow, to tense everything up. If you do it too early, you can also hurt yourself."

"So, I need to stay loose till the last moment of the punch? Hm, this is more difficult than I thought." Velma considered, she had just tried to recall what Daphne had said last time, but apparently, she hadn't listened enough that she was punching her hand wrong.

"Well, that is why we practice!" Daphne said strongly, with a nod. Even a genius like Velma, needs to practice things to get it right. But she had most of it right, all she needed to do was drill into her body the right way to do it, to prevent her from punching wrong. And well, even Daphne didn't throw out every single punch she threw perfectly. Her wrist had plenty of experience of hitting an angle wrong and suffered from it. Just meant that she needed more practice herself and needed to not let herself get so rusty.

"Alright, let's just try to take it from the punch. Find where you planted your feet and give me your best shot!"


	6. Even More Practice

"You want to do _what?_ "

Panted Velma, looking up at Daphne from the ground where she had collapsed. Daphne had been making her toss out punch after punch, to make sure she had everything lined up right. Having flash backs to the first time she had been made to do this, when the cruel task master taught her the punch in the first place. Only this time, she got to hit the pads more than just punching in air. So, she was seeing how much of a difference really meant when she was punching, but she could only take so much and had to sit down. (She did a lot more normally on a mystery and would get her second wind pretty quick. But there was a difference between being ready for all the energy it normally took on a job, compared to being kidnapped randomly without a moment's notice, when earlier she was just focusing on paperwork.) But still. They had done Daphne's practice, then her elbow practice that then led to punching exercises...

And yet Daphne wanted to do **more!**

"Well, you can sit down for this. Plus, your eye isn't looking so good. Do we have an ice pack somewhere? I think you might want to put that sucker on ice while I get in a bit more practice. Letting you relax for a bit."

Daphne didn't like the look of how red around Velma's eye was getting, and it was swelling a bit more then she liked. Especially being the one who caused it. She hoped that Velma had something hidden or tucked away in the club house that would have an ice pack. But Velma was pretty resourceful, it would be a rarity that she wasn't prepared for something like this. Unless they used it last time, and never refilled it.

"Hm, let me look. I should have one around here. But we might want to add a first aid kit into the duffle bag for next time anyway. Just in case." Velma proposed, not noticing how hindered her vision was on that side. But she had a rough idea where she might have squirreled one away for emergencies. She would just have to leave herself a note, to remind herself to buy another icepack and return it to the clubhouse.

While Velma disappeared into the building, Daphne moved to put away the pads that they had been doing. She wasn't going to need it for this next practice and wanted Velma not to have to worry about it once she came back. She took it upon herself to reassembled the duffle bag and fish around for the last thing she needed for what she had plans to do.

She also needed to remind herself to replace the water bottles for next time. So, she wouldn't forget that either. Adding a small note in her cell phone to remind herself. Both about the water, and looking into getting a cute, yet stylish first aid kit for the bag. Maybe it would be a reason to go shopping with Velma later... Well, at least once her shiner goes away. Daphne didn't want to have to explain that to Mr. McNallie any more then she was going to have to explain it to the guys.

"Oh wow, that is going to have some nice colors." Velma commented with a snicker, her glasses askew on her face as she tried to hold on to the pack and also have her glasses on. "Nice shot Daph."

"I didn't mean too..." Daphne whined.

"I know, I know. I am just bugging you. Heh. But still, pretty nice shot. I might have to go against myself and let you take a picture of it. For posterity."

"Really!?" This brightened up Daphne instantly, turning around to look Velma in the eye with way too much interest. Velma had to shake her head at the eager beaver photographer. Having to lightly shake her head, so she didn't drop the icepack in the process of moving her head normally. And eye roll might have been easier, but she had been concerned about trying that with her eye being as puffed up as it was.

"Maybe."

"I'll take a maybe!" Daphne said, standing up and plopping a small handheld device into Velma's hand. It was a stopwatch that lived inside the duffle bag as well. Velma looked down at it, fiddling with the buttons for a second before inquiring of its usage.

"What do you need timed?"

"Well, you know how Shaggy wins **EVERY TIME** when it comes to running?" Daphne lamented, feeling frustrated always being left in the dust. On a mystery was one thing, but even in a normal foot race without a monster driving him to top speeds, Shaggy was just too darn good at running.

"Yeah, that is kind of his _thing_." Velma admitted, knowing that she might have some good short dashing power. But when it came to anything that wasn't a few feet away, she would lose every time in a foot race against Shaggy.

"I want to beat him at his own game!" Declared the passionate red head, clutching a fist to the sky and shaking it slightly.

"... You want to beat Shaggy... _In a race_."

"To Pete's place."

" _ **What!**_ You crazy woman! Not only are you trying to beat Shaggy, but you want to beat him to a _place with food?!_ "

Velma was astonished at the thought of out running that man to one of his favorite restaurants on purpose! And knowing how stubborn Daphne was, probably not even with a huge head start. A little one maybe, but _still_... She would need all the training in the world to beat him.

"Well, I guess you need this practice then!" Velma took a seat on the stairs of the clubhouse and cleared the stopwatch of her fiddling and selected it to the best mode to help with this.

"Alright, how do you want to do this?"

"Hm... I guess I really should just see how long it takes me to run back and forth from two points, and then work on running faster to get my time up." Daphne suggested, figuring that was the best way.

"Wait, are you planning on doing it the Mystery Method, or on normal streets?" Velma wondered, because that made a huge difference. And well, Shaggy and Scooby were by far the fastest in the Mystery Method in the gang. Honed after years of mysteries and running away from bad guys and anything that was scary.

"Shoot, I forgot about that. Yeah, Shaggy would probably default to the Mystery Method. No trash can would go un-hopped, and no fence scaled and vaulted over. Anything and everything that might try to stand in his way to the shortest route to food would be over taken and left in his dust." Leaning into a fist, Daphne shifted her weight and consider her actions.

"I don't think just running time trials will help. I mean, doing it to build you up will help somewhat, but you will need more than just flat ground practice to really get training in. But I don't really know right now what the best route in the neighborhood would be. We will have to map out possible routes later and do research. Like which houses won't call the cops if you dash through their backyard, guard dogs and the like... Mapping out the fastest method and route to beat Shaggy... Jolly Daph, you might as well be aiming for America Ninja Warrior. I think Mount Midoriyama is easier to beat!"

Thinking about it, Velma was sure it wasn't as taxing as the reality TV show truly was. (Though a great and fun show to watch.) But if they didn't just stick to a flat out run down the sidewalk and ended up just going as fast as possible to get there, it was going to need a ton of practice of jumping over under and around things, climbing, and who knows what else in order to get there before the lanky, food driven beatnik. He was mellow and laid back for the most part, but he could be quite the competitor. Especially with food. So, this was not going to be easy for Daphne.

"Hahah, you might be right." Daphne laughed, jogging a bit in place before Velma gave her instruction on what and where to run.

"...Is beating him really worth it?"

"I want to bet him Dinner! Winner pays for the tab." She bet she could do it... _eventually_. But this is why she had Velma on her side! It wasn't really just her, she would take advantage of Velma's big brain and figure out the best way she could use to win. Why she needed to try to get some practice in!

"So, I got to start somewhere."

Velma didn't know what to say. It was a lofty goal. But it sounded like something worth going after. Even for the bragging rights of beating Shaggy to a food joint. Sure, Daphne could probably buy the restaurant if she wanted too, so money wasn't the issue. (And she would never use her money powers like that. Pete and Dante were amazing and she wouldn't want to run them out for something silly like that.) But there was a satisfaction with beating someone like Shaggy, in a skill he was really good at, to a place he really loved. Like being able to say, ' _Oh well, you may have three PHD's but I beat shaggy Rodgers in a footrace to eat pizza'_ and then having the room astonished at your accomplishment... Not really, but like that.

"I guess you should try... _hm_." Looking at the flat parts available for Daphne to try running back and forth, Velma tried to plot out a distance as her mind pondered something else on her mind. "...Maybe dash back and forth to that tree over there, and do that four times before a break?"

Casting her eyes to where Velma pointed, Daphne saw the tree that was being indicated.

"Alright, sounds good. Just tell me when to start!"

Pulling up the stopwatch, Velma pushed the button and called out. " **Go!** "

Daphne had still been bobbing lightly, shuffling between her two feet with a slight bounce until she heard Velma's call. With her dominate foot hitting the ground, she pushed off and charged forward. She didn't have to worry about trying to run in a skirt, but she doubted that she would be able to choose a day that she would have a situational clothing advantage. So, she would have to keep it in mind when she practiced to be mindful of skirts. Or be wary of possibly flashing friends and neighbors to be able to beat Shaggy. She had to make sure she didn't run in such a way that she would have a wardrobe malfunction.

Dashing between the tree and where she started, it didn't take her too long to reach the fourth and final lap. But as she stopped and looked up to ask Velma how long she took, her eyes didn't fall upon her best friend by the stairs. Actually, nothing was beside the clubhouse.

"Over _he~re_!" Calling out to Daphne, Velma had the duffel bag slung over her shoulder and was mounted up on Daphne's bike. Hanging off one finger was Daphne's keys that went to the house, jingling as the woman bobbed it tauntingly.

"Thinking about it, running back and forth isn't going to help that much. And it's getting late. So, I figured you needed some practical application! Race you home!"

Pocketing the keys, Velma turned back and awkwardly pushed off. Daphne's bike was taller than her own, and she had only ridden on it a few times. But the adrenaline rush of trying to get herself moving as fast as possible helped, because she didn't want to have Daphne catch up with her and get her before she got too far away.

" _ **DINKLEY!**_ " Shouting Velma's last name, she inwardly cursed for bringing the woman into it... And at herself for not expecting something like this to happen. But now wasn't time to be beating herself up. She had a dork with glasses to catch! Huffing, Daphne turned her attention to giving chase and getting back her keys... At least she knew that she wasn't going to have to worry about getting home first and needing to wait for Velma to arrive to get in. And having to fight her for the keys. Though she wished she was that fast at the moment, just to wipe that snug face off of Velma.

"O _oooo_ , I'm so going to get you. **Get back HERE!** "


End file.
